House Rules - Chloe Neill Page 0,69

you. You may not agree with what I did, but you know why they exist. You know what they stand for.” Right and justice, I thought.

That didn’t seem to matter to him. “Did you share blood with him?”

“It was just a drop. Just a drop on a blade. There was no drinking. I swear it.”

There was a sudden sadness in his eyes, a sadness that hurt me more than anything else and seared me to the bone. He wasn’t just angry; he was hurt.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t want this to come between us.”

“This, Merit, is an organization that presumes I’m shitty at my job, that I require guarding, that I am like them, the members of the goddamn Greenwich Presidium, which is currently trying to take my House away.”

I stood a little straighter; he was making my point for me. “That’s exactly why I had to do it, Ethan—because that’s what the GP is. They’re tyrants. And we’re trying to keep that from happening. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. But for better or worse, the secret wasn’t mine to tell.”

Fury unabated, Ethan shook his head. “You told me Jonah helped you while I was gone. It appears that wasn’t an accident.”

“He helped me with the raves while you were busy taking care of the House. And after you were gone, we worked together to figure out what Mallory was doing.”

“And have you lied to me about anything else?”

That question stung just like a slap. “I didn’t lie about this.”

“You significantly omitted. Regardless, you’ll resign.”

“What?”

“You’ll resign.” He took out his phone and held it out, fire in his eyes. “You’ll call him right now, you’ll tell him it was a mistake, and you’ll resign.”

I stared back at him. “I won’t resign. I made a promise, and it was the right promise to make.”

His eyes blazed again. “You took an oath to me. To this House.”

“That’s why I’m doing it! Ethan, now more than ever, we need the Red Guard. We need eyes on the GP. We need vampires who are willing to look beyond what the GP tells them to do and think critically. We need help.”

“We need a Sentinel with undivided loyalties.”

I stepped closer to him. My own temper was rising, but damn, did anger feel better than guilt and fear.

I put a finger in my chest. “I’m Sentinel of this House, and I’m loyal to it. My job is to do the right thing, and in my judgment, this is the right thing.”

“You joined a secret organization whose goal is to undermine my leadership!” He sounded flabbergasted.

“No, I joined a secret organization to watch the bad guys who were undermining—and who continue to undermine—your vampires.”

“And now you’ll resign.”

“I absolutely will not resign.” Whatever doubt remained about my RG membership was quickly dissipating, despite Ethan’s efforts to the contrary.

His nostrils flared. He wasn’t used to being challenged. “I am Master of this House.”

Finally, familiar territory. “And I am Sentinel of this House. Ethan, if the RG came to you tomorrow, you’d do the exact same thing. Yes, I made a difficult decision. I made a decision that clearly is making you ask questions about my loyalties, and that truly sucks. But this is the right thing for the House, and I stand by it. And if you’ll stop acting on your prejudices and think—truly think—about the advantages this gives us, you’ll know it, too.”

“I know I trusted you with my House, Merit, and with my honesty, and with my heart. Was that the right thing?”

As if in answer for me, my phone rang. I didn’t so much as reach down to turn it off, but his eyes narrowed anyway.

“Who is it?”

“Ethan—”

“Check the goddamn phone, Merit.”

My hand shaking with adrenaline, I pulled it out of my jacket pocket and checked the screen. I closed my eyes.

“Who is it?” The words were half question, half accusation.

I opened my eyes, staring back at him, countering his distrust with irritation of my own.

And meanwhile, the phone still rang, the new sound track to our battle. “It’s Jonah.”

As Ethan’s eyes narrowed, my heart raced faster. “Answer it,” he gritted out.

“We’re in the middle of a—”

“Oh, no,” he said. “We are quite done here. Answer the phone, Merit. Let’s see what brings the intrepid captain to your door.”

His tone was insinuating and insulting, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. Not about the RG. I’d made my decision, and he’d live with it.

Or he wouldn’t. I replayed his words in my mind.